Unless you’ve been in hiding for the last couple of years you’ll know that the UK has a growing problem with so called ‘Moped enabled crime’. The problem has gone through the roof and like a cancer has started to spread out from the capital. It’s slowly but surely taking hold in the bigger cities, with Manchester, Bristol, Nottingham and Birmingham all suffering a significant rise in motorcycle and scooter related crime. Smaller towns and villages are also suffering from copycat crimes.

The Manchester triangle

We recently covered a story in Manchester, where a well-known scooterist rammed a thief off his own stolen Vespa GTS before being confronted by machete and baseball wielding criminals. He ended up having to leave his stolen/recovered scooter to vanish back into the underworld once again.

Manchester has suffered on numerous occasions, with attempted scooter jacking incidents and recently a mob of 20 balaclava-clad youths on trials bikes and various other machines practically closed a main street off in Ashton-Under-Lyne whilst they beat somebody up. A couple of scooterists were caught up in the incident and the female passenger was so traumatised that she went home after escaping the rampage.

Case study 1: Ashton-Under-Lyne, Manchester

Lindsey Herbertson was on the back of her partner’s Vespa GTS when this happened…

“On Sunday 20th May I was riding pillion with Percy coming from Dukinfield, as we came down Taunton Road in Ashton Under Lyne heading towards Newmarket Road, going to Failsworth. it was a bit odd as there was a scrambler bike in the pedestrian island in the middle of the road, Percy waved him across! he declined…. as we turned onto Newmarket Road there must have been around 25 young lads on scramblers, some blocking the road and some buzzing around us on both sides of the pavements. One lad jumped off his bike, ran down and started laying into someone behind the blockade.”

With all the stories you hear about groups and with and the number of kids that were around us, moving really quick, buzzing in and around everything on the street, I wanted Percy to get out of there as quickly as possible, I felt very vulnerable, as would anyone that would have witnessed this, let alone just being the two of us on two wheels where we couldn’t lock our doors.”

An all too common sight around the country – image courtesy Motorcycle Theft Epidemic Nottingham

Why are we becoming lawless?

The reasons for the rise in these types of lawless activity are numerous. Firstly the Government have taken 19,000 police officers off the streets since 2010. That’s a huge resource to lose, especially at a time when the UK is still on a high alert for terrorism. Last year in London alone there were 23,500 scooter-related crimes reported, that’s just the tip of a very large iceberg as many more go unrecorded.

Inner city violence

The inner city gangs quickly realised that fewer police officers meant less chance of them being caught. They also realised that they could operate in a larger pond if they mobilised themselves. Stolen high powered scooters quickly became their preferred mode of transport. Mopeds would never cut it in a chase, despite what the police and media use as their term for these types of crimes. These gangs prefer the Vespa GTS 300, Piaggio Beverly 350 and TMAX 530.

Chase me bruv

What better way to encourage mobilised scooter criminals than to remove the law and then use nanny state mentality to further protect the criminals as they terrorise cities, towns and villages? It was a great idea to let it be known that the police weren’t allowed to pursue a stolen scooter/bike rider if that person wasn’t wearing a crash helmet. This and the mainstream media coverage and in some cases glorification of ‘Moped enabled crime’ has lead to what can only be considered an epidemic. The sight of young criminals riding bikes and scooters with nothing more than a tracksuit as ‘protective’ riding kit and a balaclava covering their head/face is becoming a regular sight.

Armed with intent

I live in a Nottinghamshire village and have noticed more and more bikes and scooters being stolen in and around the city over the last six months. It’s moved out of the city as well though and on a few occasions in the last two weeks I’ve seen obviously stolen or illegal bikes and scooters being ridden in the villages. Helmetless tracksuit wearing youths, faces covered by balaclava or bandana, bikes with no number plates. The usual sort of riding you expect from 15-year old Johnny off the estate. These aren’t kids out having fun, these are feral youngsters surviving on our lawless streets like it’s Armageddon. They have little to fear from the law and little chance of being chased (even though the police are set to be given more powers).

Riding in fear

In the past I’d not even consider what type of scooter I ride, where I ride or where I park it. That’s changed in the past few months. My other half asked if we should get tooled up to go into Mansfield on the scooters. She no longer feels safe riding on her own, even locally.

Manchester in fear?

Last week I received a phone call from a Manchester-based scooterist about the Ashton incident and the feelings of regular scooterists around the area. He also told me about what they’re referring to as the ‘Manchester Triangle’ a hot bed for scooter crime in the Denton, Gorton and Ashton areas. More worryingly he talked about scooterists arming themselves when they go out, with a large screwdriver being mentioned as a legitimate tool to carry.

Lose control of the streets, turn the country into a vigilante nation and you soon end up with more deaths, assaults and ordinary riders finding themselves foul of what little law we have left. Why should genuine scooter riders and enthusiasts suffer and be forced to think carefully about where and what we ride, where we park and whether we’ll be safe or not?

Case study 2: Denton, Manchester

Here’s one first-hand account of an armed incident in Denton, Manchester. This happened to Alan Pickering in May. Interestingly Alan didn’t even bother to report it to the police. Our advice is to report every incident, even if the police won’t attend the scene (and to be fair you’re not likely to hang around after something like this) at least it’s logged and will help to build up a picture of problem areas and patterns of attacks.

Alan told us “I went to my local club night a few weeks ago, as I left The Sun Inn in Audenshaw and headed towards Denton I was stopped at traffic lights at Crown Point, Denton. Two motorbikes pulled in front of me, these bikes had no lights or reg plates. The riders had no helmets on but had masks around their faces, suddenly the pillions got off and turned to me saying they wanted my Vespa.

I noticed one of them brandish a Stanley knife. I put my scoot on its stand and removed my helmet to use it to defend myself…”

“Luckily for me I hadn’t noticed two men who had got out of their car and came to my help. The lads jumped back on the bikes and rode off giving some nice insults as they rode away. I thanked the blokes and headed home. This incident was not the only one that night, it seems these lads tried their hand a few times without success. These lowlifes need to be stopped.”

I didn’t even bother contacting the police as they don’t do anything. these low lifes are going to kill someone before long…”

A statement from Greater Manchester Police

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police told us “We take all reports of crime seriously and would urge any scooter riders who have been the victim of crime to call police. There have been low numbers of scooters and mopeds stolen in the area identified, so far this year. In fact, we have seen a 30% reduction in this type of crime compared to the same period in 2017.”

“Considering the area identified, there have only been eight crimes recorded in 2018 where motorcycles have been used in the commission of other offences, commonly as ‘get-away’ vehicles, this figure includes high-powered motorcycles and not just specifically scooters.”

Our officers are authorised to pursue vehicles that are believed to be involved in crime, which includes scooters.”

Easy pickings on any scooter rally…

Parking on scooter rallies

Not so long ago we’d not bother taking a lock and chain to a rally but society has slowly but surely eroded that practice. Scooters by their very nature are vulnerable, many of them don’t even have a steering lock, and in lots of cases don’t even need a key to start them. They’re also light enough to be chucked in a van, or simply pushed away. We’ve already heard of one scooter being nicked from the pre-season at Morecambe this year, admittedly that wasn’t locked up.

Operation Yellowfin

One area that is being proactive are Humberside. We were contacted by Humberside police, they’ve seen a huge increase in bike and scooter thefts in their area. They realise that in a few weeks time they’ll have 4,000 scooterists in town for the Cleethorpes National Scooter Rally. They’ve launched Operation Yellowfin, an initiative aimed at both locals and rally goers. They’ll be leaflet dropping the pubs over the rally weekend.

You can do your bit to help by thinking about your scooter security before you go to the rally (or any other scooter rally). Chain it to something solid, or other scooters, maybe take a cover to keep it away from prying eyes. The police in Cleethorpes warned us that traveller gangs have been going around in vans, lifting bikes off the street. The rally organisers will also be keeping a close eye on security within the campsite.

Get your Rider’s Against Scooter Crime stickers

We’ve just taken delivery of 10,000 RASC stickers. If you’re heading to the Big 7 National Rally this weekend you’ll get one whilst you’re there. We’ll also be sending them out with shop purchases (once I’m back from the Euro) and we’ll probably be sending packs out to scooter clubs on request.

Comment on this post

Have you been a victim of bike/scooter enabled crime? If so comment on this story. We’d like to share your experiences, give as much info as possible on time, date and locations.

SIGN AND SHARE OUR PETITION

We’ve created this petition to raise awareness, prompt debate, and hopefully get the Government to take notice of what is happening on the streets.Let’s tackle the scum, hit them where it hurts and get them off our streets for as long as possible.

A remote controlled electric shock seat or handlebars would be good. We used to have a rattrap car in manchester that had disabled door handles so once they were in they were caught and couldnt get out.

It seems the Government of Airstrip 1 are more interested in locking up political prisoners and clamping down on “Thought Crime” and not offending certain groups rather than deal with physical crime and disorder. I don’t recognise my country anymore.

The government of law and order. More bothered about brexit than the day job.
I’ll sign the petition.
So if a police officer chases a suspect the police officer can be done if the suspect has an injury.
I say if they don’t stop it should be open season.
Reminds me of my mate who got six months for clobbering a burglar in his home with a baseball bat.
mad

In the 16th and 17th century, when there was no effective police force, highway robbery became a real menace to everyday travel . I see the modern day equivalent as car and scooter hijacking with associated scooter theft.
The robbers, knowing they had little opposition to the actual crime, could use whatever force they needed to take anything they wanted. . I see the modern day equivalent in car and scooter hijacking with associated scooter theft.
The same situation became rampant later in the American Wild West. Until…..deadly force was used in defence. Together with automatic death sentences for highway robbery, the frequency for this type of crime fell off dramatically. In this period in America it was also a hanging offence to steal a horse; this also became necessary to halt the commonplace lucrative practice of horse rustling.
The mode of transport for victim and criminal was the horse.
It seems that although hundreds of years later with the benefit of hunger ,poverty and other previously used excuses for mitigating robbery being eliminated, we are still faced with unchanged human nature. The mode of transport has changed ,from horse to scooter but these scum are now better endowed to escape any justice. Gone are those days when one could legitimately use deadly force to protect and defend self and property at the point of a hold up, and now reliance must be made on police presence that is hampered by unfair “rules of engagement” whereby even in the unlikely event of being on the scene in a timely manner, they are forbidden to continue a chase if that chase becomes hazardous to the fleeing suspect. Not exactly the same call if the suspect is in a car/van where the criterion becomes relevant endangerment to the general public.
And so, with the passage of centuries of enlightenment and forward fresh thinking with reference to crime and punishment, we are now in a situation that enhances the motivation for highway robbery because the deterrent and risk of getting caught and punished firmly favours that crime.
If after all the soul searching and head scratching to find a means to reduce this type of crime fails, society should really stand back and look at some lessons from the past .Otherwise criminality is emboldened ,honest John becomes like his counterpart hundreds of years ago when venturing out on the highway is fraught with peril.
A bit over the top???

Good read, especially as I was woken last night by the Police helicopter buzzing over our house chasing two lads on two noisey motorbikes with no lights or helmets on. Trouble is nowadays if you confront these scumbags and do them any harm, they get you prosecuted for ABH and they get a slap on the wrists for attempted theft. Law is soft on them, yet hard on you if you use retribution against them.